This document provides an overview of an IT project report submitted by students to Dr. V.M. Mathur on the role of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in e-governance. It includes: - An acknowledgment and preface sections thanking the professor for guidance. - An introduction to e-governance in India and some background on initiatives and challenges. - A table of contents outlining the various sections of the report. - Details of some successful e-governance projects implemented by TCS, including Project Akshaya and MCA21. The document serves as an information resource on TCS' involvement in key e-govern

1. LBSIM- 2013-2015
IT PROJECT ON THE ROLE
OF TCS IN
E-GOVERNANCE
SUBMITTED TO:
DR. V.M. MATHUR
EFFORTS BY:
SOMESH PAL (88)
SNEHA ROSE CHACKO (90)
AZIZ BHATIA
ILESH GHEVARIYA (89)
SIDHARTHA BORPUZARI
PRADEEP
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
2.
PREFACE
3.
INTRODUCTION TO E-GOVERNANCE
4.
E-GOVERNANCE IN INDIA
5.
VARIOUS COMPANIES IN E-GOVERNANCE
6.
ABOUT TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES
7.
SOME SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS BY TCS IN E-GOVERNANCE
8.
MCA21
9.
DATABASES USED IN MCA21
10. SERVICES PROVIDED BY MCA21
11. ENABLING FACTORS
12. HELP BY GOVERNMENT IN E-GOVERNANCE
13. GLOBAL SCENARIO OF E -GOVERNANCE
14. RECOMMENDATIONS
15. CONCLUSION
16. REFERENCES
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We chose the MCA21 as the topic of our Information technology end term project as it was
(and is) one of the major project undertaken by TCS in e governance. We came to know its
functioning and working and also the limitations that were faced in MCA21.
This being our end term project, all of us put in a lot of effort into making this project.
However, it was the able guidance of Information Technology Professor, Dr VM Mathur for
his guidance and support which made sure we treaded the right path all along. We thank him
for extending us such support.
I would also like to acknowledge all those who have directly or indirectly helped in making
this project a reality.
Section B
PGDM 2013-15
LBSIM
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4. LBSIM- 2013-2015
PREFACE
For a country to be considered to be technologically advanced, e-Governance is a key
requirement and measurement. The World Economic Forum‟s league table measuring the
impact of technology on the development of nations, places Denmark at the top of the list for
technological advancement, with other Nordic countries Sweden, Finland and Norway
claiming second, fourth and 10th place respectively. E-Governance is not just about
improving delivery of services to citizens, businesses and government employees. It is also
about blending Information and Communications Technology (ICT) with administrative
reforms to make government more efficient, drive down costs and increase transparency in
how government departments work.
In India many major companies are working on various e governance projects. These projects
form the backbone for successful working of various applications of government that we use
in day to day life.
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INTRODUCTION TO E GOVERNANCE
India‟s central and state governments have tended to follow a silo approach to e-Governance
- some implementation has taken place but has tended to be piecemeal and disjointed and,
consequently, having little impact. This has prevented the absolute necessity for the benefits
of IT to percolate to the grass root level and has left the disjointed silos ineffective and
(relatively) unused. Today, there is a proliferation of portals in India. Most states have their
own portals. But a majority of these portals cannot be considered to be anywhere nears the
„one-stop-shops „that should provide end-to-end services to citizens. Ministries and
individual departments have separate websites.
In a majority of government departments, computerisation exists to the extent of having
desktop computers for the required staff and department-wise applications. These
applications, however, cannot interface with each other and significantly impact
interoperability not only currently but also in future when integrated and holistic IT
implementation will become the norm of the day.
E-Governance has the potential to benefit India‟s citizens exponentially and maximise the
return on the government‟s investment in it. The contradiction in India is that the country is
rightly recognised a global leader in the delivery of IT services, but it suffers from very little
internal IT development in the country. Whereas technology leads, it tends to be in the
private Sector, by companies, corporations and non-governmental groups. Where it is the
weakest – and where it can have the greatest impact - is in the public sector.
The Economist Intelligence Unit‟s annual e-readiness ranks India at 54 out of the World‟s 69
largest economies Along with the Philippines. India has moved down by one rank since 2006.
The NASSCOM report on Information Technology on the Economy of India highlights that,
despite India's global IT dominance, internally, the country has a low level of IT investment only 3.5 per cent of total capital – and minimal dispersal of IT capital of 30 countries
evaluated. The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Information Technology Report
(2006-2007) ranks India at 44 (out of a total of 122 countries).
Ahead of India are countries including Tunisia, Qatar, Thailand, Italy, Lithuania, Barbados,
Slovak Republic, Latvia and Cyprus. The WEF‟s „Global Competitiveness Report (20072008)‟ also ranks India at 45 out of a total of 122 countries. India has come down by 3 ranks
from 42nd in 2006-2007 to 45 in 2007-08.The World Bank‟s Doing Business 2008 report
data positions India at 120 (out of 178 economies) in the overall "Ease of Doing Business"
ranking.
E-governance is the application of information & communication technologies to transform
the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of informational & transactional
exchanges with in government, between govt. & govt. agencies of National, State, Municipal
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6. LBSIM- 2013-2015
& Local levels, citizen & businesses, and to empower citizens through access & use of
information.
E-Governance is not just about improving delivery of services to citizens, businesses and
government employees. It is also about blending Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) with administrative reforms to make government more efficient, drive
down costs and increase transparency in how government departments work. If implemented
properly, it can be an asset for the un-served and under-served areas in India and help drive
new levels of efficiency to government services in India
The Government of India has launched the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) with the
intent to support the growth of e-governance within the country. The Plan envisages creation
of right environments to implement G2G, G2B, G2E and G2C services.
To ensure Interoperability among e-Governance applications, Government of India has setup
an Institutional mechanism for formulation of Standards through collaborative efforts of
stakeholders like Department of Information Technology(DIT), National Informatics Centre
(NIC), Standardization Testing and Quality Certification( STQC), other Government
departments, Academia, Technology Experts, Domain Experts, Industry, BIS, NGOs etc. In
this process there is a provision of formal Public review also.
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E-GOVERNANCE IN INDIA
India‟s poor position in all the meaningful world rankings clearly indicates a need to take
some serious measures to improve the e-Governance scenario in India. The central and state
governments need to ensure that the e- Governance initiatives taken are in tune with the best
practices recognized the world over. Most of the countries ahead of India in the World
rankings tend to have a few common strategies in place that have helped them deliver
effective e-Governance from governance at a national level or central level to dedicated eChampions to deliver e-Governance policies through to completion.
Based on these global experiences, this report recommends that the Government of India
adopts a five-point plan to implement effective e-Governance in India. They include:
A nationwide mandate to allocate a fixed percentage of annual budgets to eGovernance.
The need to adopt mature, integrated and holistic solution/services based approach
National level governance of the e-Governance programme
Key Personnel appointed for the entire term of an e-Governance initiative
Standing committee in government
A nationwide mandate allocating a fixed percentage of annual budget for eGovernance initiatives
A Study by Springboard Research indicates that while IT spending in the Public Sector is
growing across Asia, there is still a wide gulf between the more mature and emerging
countries in the region. Countries such as New Zealand and Australia are spending close to
US$ 200 per capita on IT in the public sector, while countries such as India and Indonesia is
spending as little as US$ 1 per capita.
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Source: Springboard Research, a leading innovator in the IT Market Research industry –
Study on ‘IT spending in the Public Sector in Asia: Opportunities Abound, 2005
IT Spending
(US$)
New Zealand
198.78
Australia
193.82
Singapore
152.89
Hong Kong
67.22
Korea
52.96
Taiwan
45.22
Malaysia
21.92
Thailand
7.41
China
3.67
Philippines
2.94
India
1.29
Indonesia
1.10
The Government, while recognising IT as a thrust area for growth, had given a directive to all
government departments to allocate up to 3 per cent of their annual budgets to
computerization. The directive has resulted in the IT policies of many states necessitating all
government departments to spend 3 per cent of their annual budget on computerisation. A
sample clause taken from the Government of Orissa‟s IT Policy (2004) states:
All government departments will be obliged to allocate 3 per cent of their Annual Budget
under the head „IT Budget „for procurement of hardware and software and 5 per cent for
building up the IT infrastructure by their own initiative or in conjunction with combined
budget allocation of two or more.
However, without some form of an apex central steering committee, the directive is likely to
remain on paper alone. It should be made mandatory for all government departments to
earmark and spend at least 3 per cent of their annual budgets on IT initiatives.
Hitherto, the in-house IT arms of various government departments have followed the practice
of purchasing hardware, software, services and networks from multiple vendors. Many years
of following this practice have left these departments with disparate computer systems,
standards and technologies that cannot interface and consequently prove to be an obstruction
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9. LBSIM- 2013-2015
to intra and inter departmental information sharing and collaboration. What is required in
India‟s government sector is a strategic shift from the commodity based IT approach to a
mature solution/services based approach. The central and state governments need to start
procuring IT services rather than procuring hardware, software and services.
With this new approach, the IT related needs of government are addressed in conjunction by
an IT partner and after a thorough consultation process. This Public Private Partnership (PPP)
model for managed services enables government to concentrate on core-mission critical
value-adding activities while moving the technology-related requirements to IT professionals
(IT partner). In other words, it can focus its attention on what it does best; and use the IT
partner to deliver what it is most experienced at delivering.
The caveat for such an engagement has to also be based on clear service level agreements
(SLAs) that are completely outcome-driven, allowing both client and IT partner to decide and
agree on deliverables. The IT partner provides services to the client and is paid periodic fixed
amounts. This allows the government department to understand exactly what it is paying for
and hold a provider accountable to deliver. If the IT partner breaches any of these SLAs, the
department, ministry or state office is able to penalise the provider according to the agreed
norms. This total outsourcing model works around the world in government and private
companies where the deal tenor is long-term (8 to 10 years ideally). At the end of the tenor,
either the deal is renewed or the legal and financial ownership of the IT infrastructure is
transferred back to the client.
Projects such as MCA21 and AP Online offer examples and explain the dynamics of a
successful PPP.
Advantages offered include:
Technology risk is borne by the IT partner while government bears the business risk
only (today both risks are Borne by government).
Governments are absolved of IT responsibility, ownership, obsolescence and
upgrades and can focus fully on its core business.
IT infrastructure optimised and sharing possible among departments and state
governments.
Single platform and synchronised deployment becomes possible.
SLAs ensure service standards with the government paying only for desired service.
Project related risks move entirely to the partner as the Government pays only for
desired/acceptable outcomes.
Cost of technology is converted into cost of service.
SLAs ensure outcome-based investment in technology leading to tangible results and
increased stakeholder value and perception.
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VARIOUS COMPANIES IN E-GOVERNANCE
Serial Company
No.
1
ABM Knowledge ware Ltd
2
CMS computers Ltd
3
Coromandel InfoTech
4
C-DAC(Centre for Development of Advanced
Computing)
5
Vakrangee software‟s Limited
Projects implemented
1.Kalyan Dombivli
Municipal Corporation
(KDMC)
2.Udyog setu
3.AQUA(Complete
Application Software for
Water Billing and
Accounting)
1.Bangalore One
2.KAVERI (Karnataka
Valuation and e-Registration)
3.Punjab Land Records
Systems (PLRS)
1.Electronice Public
Distribution System (e-PDS)
2. Electronic Ticketing
Machine (e-TM)
3. Mobile Cops (m-Cops)
1.Octroi management,
Maharashtra
2.State legislative
assembly/council operation
computerization
3. Telephone revenue billing
(pune telecom)
1.AADHAAR (UIDIA)
generation
2. White Label ATMS
(WLAs)
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ABOUT TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an IT services, consulting and business solutions
organisation that delivers real results to global businesses.
TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPO, infrastructure, engineering and
assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery ModelTM,
recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development.
A part of the Tata group, India‟s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 276,000 of the
world's best trained consultants. The company generated consolidated revenues of $11.6
billion for year ended March 31, 2012 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and the
Bombay Stock Exchange in India.
TCS has the depth and breadth of experience and expertise that businesses need to achieve
business goals and succeed amidst fierce competition. TCS helps clients from various
industries solve complex problems, mitigate risks and become operationally excellent.
TCS is headquartered in Mumbai, operates in 44 countries and has more than 199 offices
across the world.
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SOME SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS BY TCS IN E GOVERNANCE
Project Akshaya
„Akshaya‟, an IT dissemination project, was launched on 18th November 2002 as a pilot in
Malappuram, a district in Kerala. The project envisaged development of 5000 networked
Multi-purpose Community Technology Centers - Akshaya e Kendra‟s - to provide ICT access
to the entire population of the state. The objective of this project was to make at least one
person in each of over 65 Lakh (6,500,000) families in the state e-literate. Run by private
entrepreneurs, each e-Kendra was envisaged to be set up within 2-3 kilometres of every
household to cater to the requirements of around 1000-3000 families to make available the
power of networking and connectivity to the „common man‟ or citizen. Akshaya is a social
and economic catalyst focusing on the various facets of e-learning, e-transaction, Egovernance, information and communication. The success in Malappuram has led to a state
wide roll out of the project.
In Malappuram alone, the project has trained more than 5.9 lakh (5,900,000) people (out of
the 6.5 lakh households).
65 per cent of the trainees are women. Akshaya e-pay has recently touched 4 crore (40
million) transactions in Malappuram. A total of Rs. 32.2 crores has been invested by
entrepreneurs, local self-government and state government. The first phase of the state wide
roll out is estimated to train 25 lakh (2,500,000) persons. An investment of Rs. 76 crores has
been made for this phase by entrepreneurs, local self-governments, beneficiaries and state
Government collectively.
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MCA21
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is responsible for administration of the Companies
Act, 1956, other allied Acts and Rules & Regulations framed for regulating the functioning of
the Corporate Sector in accordance with law.
The programme was implemented in a record time of 78 weeks. This project is India‟s 1st
mission mode project (the highest priority rating assigned by the Indian government) under
the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP).
MCA21 has enabled 100% electronic filing, electronic payment mechanisms, use of Digital
Signature Certificates for all transactions, delivery of more than 90% of services by MCA
offices within charter defined by Ministry, significant increase in rate of compliance, green
project resulted in saving of ~ 60 acres of forest land till date.
The programme has phenomenal success with more than 90% of e-filing being done by
stakeholders (as against the target of 25%), total transparency for service delivery to
stakeholders through online reports, more than 40% electronic on-line payments , very high
level of stakeholder satisfaction.
The implementation of such a large-scale transformation project, in the shortest possible time,
is a landmark and has established a benchmark for such a program not only in India but
across the world.
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AP ONLINE
APOnline (www.aponline.gov.in) is a digital gateway of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh
to provide multiple government services through multiple channels, anytime and anywhere to
citizens and businesses through a single window. The bi-lingual portal has redefined
government-citizen interface and government-business interface by providing information,
interactive and payment services to the citizens. The APOnline solution is based on the
lifecycle event model, dictated by events in the citizen‟s lifecycle.
APOnline has a self-sustaining delivery model and is currently working through 1300 kiosks
and franchises. APOnline delivers government information and services through Internet,
manned and unmanned kiosks and collection agents. The model had generated employment
for over 2000 people in the state.
AP Online has developed a host of applications for the benefit of rural citizens and farmers. It
has also helped bridge the digital divide to a great extent.
The portal has resulted in greater transparency, convenience, accountability and
responsiveness for citizens and businesses and lower overall costs for citizens and businesses.
It has also helped governments enjoy an improved
Image and cost-savings by reduced delivery cost.
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E-Choupal
The E-Choupal model, http://www.itcportal.com, is centred on a network of „e-Choupals‟
which are information centres armed with a computer connected to the Internet. The eChoupals, information centres linked to the Internet, represent an approach to seamlessly
connect subsistence farmers with global markets. E-Choupal has helped link the largest
labour force with the mandis, the international markets as well as the final consumer at much
reduced transaction costs. The e-Choupal initiative; one of the largest information
technology-based intervention in rural India has transformed the Indian farmer into a
progressive knowledge-seeking netizen. It has enriched the farmer with knowledge and
elevated him to a new order of empowerment.
Given the low levels of literacy in the rural sector, the role of the lead farmer of the village, in
facilitating physical interface between the computer terminal and the farmers is central to
project e-Choupal. e-Choupal delivers real-time information and customised knowledge to
improve the farmer's decision-making ability, thereby better aligning farm output to market
demands; securing better quality, productivity and improved price discovery. The model
helps aggregate demand in the nature of a virtual producers' co-operative, in the process
facilitating access to higher quality farm inputs at lower costs for the farmer. The e-Choupal
initiative also creates a direct marketing channel, eliminating wasteful intermediation and
multiple handling, thus reducing transaction costs and making logistics efficient.
Smart Cards enable farmer identification to provide customised information on the
echoupal.com website. Online transactions are captured to reward farmers for volume and
value of usage.
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MILESTONES:
Commencement of initiative in 2000, 9 states covered, 38,500 villages covered, 6500 eChoupal installations.
AGENDA FOR 2012:
15 states to be covered which include over 1 lakh Villages to be covered. More than 20,000
e-Choupals to be installed and 10 million farmers will be e-empowered.
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MCA 21
NEED FOR THE PROJECT
In the year 2002, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (then known as the Department of
Company Affairs) was faced with the problem of providing services to nearly 7.5 lakh
corporate entities. Vast amount of paperwork was to be processed. This was to be expected
because with globalization and interest shown by foreign companies in India, the number of
documents being handled was constantly increasing even as the expectations were increasing.
MCA21 PROJECT (PREVIOUSLY CHRISTENED DCA21) - A RECAP
In the context of a globalizing world, it is important that Indian industry remains in the
reckoning in a competitive environment. Therefore, the regulatory framework must facilitate
compliance of rules at a minimum cost and with convenience to the stakeholder. MCA21 is
founded on the Government‟s vision to build a healthy business eco system and make the
country globally competitive.
MCA21 is an innovative e-Governance initiative that aims at continuously repositioning
Ministry of Company Affairs (MCA) as an organization capable of fulfilling the aspirations
of its stakeholders in the 21st century. For any program to be outcome-based, a paradigm
shift in the service delivery is inevitable. A Service Centric Approach by the Government is
the principal driving factor to the transformation.
The bottom line of this unique initiative is the improved speed and certainty in the delivery of
MCA services. This improvement is primarily enabled through the mechanism of electronic
Filing (e-Filing) for the services and back office automation by harnessing the right
technology enablers.
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PROJECT PROGRESS
The MCA21 project was formally awarded to a consortium of TCS Ltd. and CMC Ltd. on 1st
March, 2005 on the basis of an open bid process. It is expected that by the end of the year
2005, pilots will be launched at both Delhi and Coimbatore and by mid-2006 the nationwide
rollout of the project will be completed. This would mean that by mid next year, any of the
transactions with the RoC, with the exception of the functions related to the Official
Liquidator (OL) can be carried out electronically. Besides the solution development, the
process of digitization of the company‟s legacy records has also been commenced.
IMPLEMENTATION
MCA21 project is designed to fully automate all processes related to the proactive
enforcement and compliance of the legal requirements under the Companies Act, 1956. This
will help the business community to meet their statutory obligations. The major components
involved in this comprehensive e-Governance project are Front Office and Back Office. From
the customer perspective, the Front Office operations assume significance, which would be
administered through the Front Office portal. The entire Back Office operations of the MCA
would be automated so as to achieve the objective of a user-friendly computerized
environment. MCA portal is the single point of contact for all MCA related services, which
can be easily accessed over the Internet by all users.
The project also envisages a cost-effective integrated software solution for computerizing
various in-house functions like Human Resources Management, Payroll, Accounting and
Finance for internal users (employees) of MCA.
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Adopting international best practices, MCA21 application adds immense value to the
stakeholders. The following points highlight the project‟s invaluable importance:
Enable the business community to register a company and file statutory documents
quickly and easily.
Public will get easy access to relevant records and get their grievances redressed
effectively.
Professionals will be able to offer efficient services to their client companies.
Financial institutions will find registration and verification of charges easy.
MCA will ensure proactive and effective compliance with relevant laws and corporate
governance.
Employees will be enabled to deliver best of breed services.
The re-engineered electronic forms, also called e-Forms, are capable of helping the citizens in
the process of filling the information electronically. Lifecycle of e-Forms, the key interface to
most MCA transactions, is automated from submission to the delivery of services requested
therein. It covers dissemination of e-Forms in a reliable manner, efficient filling of
information by eliminating re-entering data submitted in the past, electronic payment for and
delivery of services as requested in the e-Forms. The business community can also track the
status of their e-filing online.
The capability to automate the e-Form processing has also been extended to the Back Offices
to meet the service levels committed to the business community. The e-Forms and attached
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20. LBSIM- 2013-2015
documents, all in electronic format, are automatically assigned to the MCA staff and the
progress tracked until the service is delivered to the citizens.
Besides e-Form service delivery to the business community, the MCA system includes tools
for the analysis of corporate data for proactive surveillance and prosecution resulting in
efficient investor protection.
FOLLOWING IS THE MAIN WINDOW OF MCA21
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DATABASES USED IN MCA 21
Company Master Database
The Company Master Data and Charge data has been migrated from the legacy system
This is the central database where the company information is stored. It is implemented by a
Production Server where all the database information is stored. Every company is assigned
one corporate identification number (CIN) which is a unique key.
Companies Index of Charges (Bank)
The companies need to file Form 8 in connection with the modification/ satisfaction of
charges so this database is required. On Login the system requires a reference to the
document ID vide which the charge was created in the first instance or modified at a
subsequent stage and only then the subsequent transaction goes through.
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Login Screen
Companies Signatory Details
The Ministry has scanned and digitised all the subsisting charge documents and the index of
all such documents is available for viewing without any charge. This avoids against any theft
or piracy thus maintaining a high level of security.
Login Screen
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SERVICE PROVIDED BY MCA21
The services covered under the project include:
Online filing of documents
Online registry of documents
Registration of Companies
Easy public access to Corporate Information
Furthermore, the project further seeks to achieve inter-operability with the National eGovernance Services Delivery Gateway (NSDG), which will help extend MCA services
to businesses via multiple front-end delivery channels, and which will also help provide
other value-added services over and above the base services offered by MCA21.
a. Digital Signature Certificate:
The provision to use Digital Signatures on the documents submitted in electronic form
under Information Technology Act, 2000, ensures the safety and legitimacy of the
documents filed electronically. This is the only protected and bona fide way that a
document can be submitted electronically. All filings done by the companies under
MCA21 e-Governance program are required to be filed with the use of Digital
Signatures by the person authorized to sign the documents.
Under the provisions of IT Act, 2000, seven Certification Agencies are appointed by the
office of the Controller of Certification Agencies (CCA) that is authorized by the CCA
to issue the Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs). The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has
stipulated a Class-II or above category certificate for e-filings under MCA21.
The price of DSCs includes the cost of medium (a UBS token which is a onetime cost),
the cost of issuance of DSC and the renewal cost after the period of validity. The DSCs
are typically issued with one year or two year validity. These are renewable on expiry of
the period of initial issue. The use of the Digital Signatures other than by the authorized
person is illegal.
Another new feature which is being added in the MCA application is the Role check for
Indian companies. Role check can be performed only after the signatories have
registered their Digital signature certificates (DSC) with MCA. Once the role check is
implemented, system shall verify whether the signature on the e-form filed, is of
signatory of the company.
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B. e-Filing:
MCA21 replaces the erstwhile practices broadly consisting of physically filing of
documents, incorporation of companies and inspection of documents with the Registrar
of Companies. This project is the first of its kind and is intended to create a health
business ecosystem constructive for foreign investment thereby boosting the Indian
economy.
From September 16, 2006, it is compulsory that all filings are to be made only under the
Digital Signatures of the authorized person (MD/ Director/ Company Secretary as the
case may be). There are various channels available to stakeholders to enable them to do
the statutory filing with ROC offices across the country:
The Virtual Front Office through www.mca.gov.in portal.
Registrar‟s Front Offices set-up under the project and managed and operated by 53
Operators all over India.
Certified Filing Centres or CFC managed and operated by the Professionals on user charge
basis (550 plus centres approved all over India at 85 cities).
Companies can do e-Filing in three different ways:
The Company representative can upload the e-Forms on the MCA portal through the
„Annual Filing Corner‟ link (after registering oneself as a user of the portal) at his
convenience from his office/ home. This is the most convenient way of e-Filing.
The Company representative can prepare the e-Forms as per guidelines, get them digitally
signed by the authorized signatory, copy them in a CD or a pen drive and visit the nearest
“Registrar‟s Front Office” (RFO). RFO staff will assist in uploading of e-Forms on MCA
portal.
The Company representative can also contact any of the Certified Filing Centres (CFCs)
for the Annual Filing of e-Forms by paying the service charges to the CFCs. The details
about the CFCs are available under the „Certified Filing Centre‟ tab on the homepage of
MCA Portal.
It has been decided to set up Facilitation Centers/ Registrar's Front Offices at 53
locations throughout the country as a part of the Project to facilitate e-filing by
professionals/ company representatives. The e-filing services in these Facilitation
Centers are made available without charges for a period of 3 years which got over in
January 2010. 48 of these centers have been closed now and helpdesks have now been
set up at ROC locations for providing level-1 information services. However, many of
the showcase facilitation centers located at major metropolitan cities of Delhi, Kolkata,
Mumbai, and Chennai would be continued till the end of the project cycle and in these
centers the e-filing services would be offered free of charge.
To further disseminate the facilities for e-filing, it has been decided to provide an
opportunity for the Professional Institutes (ICSI, ICAI and ICWAI), their Regional
Councils/ Local chapters, individual practicing members and firms of professionals to
create and set-up the Certified Filing Centers. While the services available from the
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25. LBSIM- 2013-2015
Facilitation Centers set-up by the Ministry would be without any charge, the services
provided by these Certified Filing Centers will entail payment of service charges.
This arrangement is formalized through this "Scheme for Certified Filing Centers
(CFCs)" launched on 4th August 2006.
The process of approval from CFCs is a three stage process:i.
He interested applicant submits his application through the respective
Institute for approval of his name for the CFC.
ii.
The Institute forwards the list of the applicants on an on-going basis and
the Ministry takes a decision regarding approval. On approval, the
communication is sent to the respective Institute and the Approval
Certificate is in turn issued by the respective Institute to the applicant.
iii.
Upon approval, the CFC user id and password shall be created and
communicated by mail to the CFC Manager. Once the user ID and
Password is communicated to the approved applicant, it is ready to
operate as a CFC for providing services to the stakeholders.
A new SMS facility has been started by the Ministry which is applicable only for
Annual Filing e-Forms i.e. 20B, 23AC, 23ACA, 66 and 21A."
C. e-Stamp:
In continuance of e-Governance initiatives, now the provisions regarding stamp duty
applicable on filing of e-forms have been amended and stakeholders shall have facility to
pay stamp duty in electronic manner also. Previously, physical submission of documents
is mandatory where stamp duty is levied in order to ascertain that applicable stamp duty
has been paid. Therefore, even though the e-Form is submitted instantly, the RoC office
has to wait for the receipt of physical stamp papers to initiate necessary processing. It
results in service delivery time getting longer.
As of now, e-Stamp covers Form 1(including MoA, AoA); Form 5 and Form 44 only,
accordingly revised e-forms are being introduced w.e.f. 12.09.2009. These provisions
shall be applicable to the e-forms filed subsequent to this amendment. In case e-forms
filed earlier are 'Resubmitted' after implementation of this change, e-stamp shall not be
applicable.
The process of e-stamp has not been made mandatory. Therefore, stakeholders have
option to pay stamp duty in electronic manner through MCA21 system or in physical
form as per the existing procedure. Further, this process shall be applicable only to such
States/Union Territories which have agreed to the request of Ministry of Corporate
Affairs for collection of e-stamp duty on their behalf.
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26. LBSIM- 2013-2015
List of e-Forms to which e-Stamping will be applicable include:
Form 1, (including MoA, AoA)
Form 5
Form 44
Form 67
Other services/facilities that can be availed through MCA 21 website include:
Transaction Status Tracking
Tracking Payment Status
Easy access to Public documents
Searching CIN/ GLN
Fee Calculator
MCA Payments
For the purpose of collection of payments more than 200 branches in all major cities and
towns of the following five Banks have been authorized:
State Bank of India
Punjab National Bank
Indian Bank
ICICI Bank
HDFC Bank
At the time of submitting the form at the MCA21 portal, the system will provide a pre-filled
bank challan that can be printed out by the applicant. Using these challans a teller payment is
made at one of the authorized bank branches convenient to the applicant. Upon completion of
the MCA payment, the electronic documents are authorized for processing by the banks on
the day following the payment. These authorizations are provided electronically through
highly secure processes. In the case of credit cards the authorization to the MCA21 system is
instantaneous.
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27. LBSIM- 2013-2015
Back Office Operations
The MCA back office efficiencies that brings about speed and certainty in the delivery of
services are enabled through the concepts of electronic documents incorporated in automated
workflows. The workflows for the bulk of the services are pretty much standardized and
provide adequate system features for monitoring and control. As a result, the electronic
documents move quickly from one desk to another and after completion of processing, finally
reaches the electronic document repository. As the documents build up in the digital archive
and there is a progressive reduction in the dependence on physical paper documents for RoC
processing, predictability in service efficiencies can be achieved. It is possible, in the
envisaged scenario for public to have access, for instance, to the charge documents within a
day of its being filed as part of the inspection of company‟s documents.
Citizen Facilitation
When implementing a sophisticated ICT based solution such as the MCA21 solution, citizen
facilitation becomes critical to ensure the success of the system. It especially becomes very
relevant in the Indian context where the „digital divide‟ is very steep, to address the needs of
the stakeholders who do not have access to a computer system, an Internet connection and
those who are not adept in using computerized applications. In order to address this, a wide
network of Physical Front Offices (PFO) will be established. These will be conveniently
located at all Metros, major cities/towns and in Special Economic Zones.
Citizens will, thus, have the choice to do electronic filing either directly at the MCA21 portal
or seek the services of a PFO. This would eliminate the arduous task of the citizen physically
going to a RoC or other offices of MCA to complete a transaction. More importantly, the
transaction can be carried out from any location as physical boundaries have been eliminated
- for instance a company with its corporate office at Bangalore and its registered office at
Kolkata can conveniently choose to file from a PFO that is located at Bangalore or for that
matter any other part of the country.
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28. LBSIM- 2013-2015
Processing Hub
A National Data Centre at Delhi and a Disaster Recovery Centre at Chennai will be
established to exclusively support uninterrupted 24 x 7 operation of the MCA21 system. The
solution also provides for a high bandwidth nationwide connectivity across all offices of
MCA and facility to allow access to several thousand users at the same time, whether it is for
citizen or back office access.
Public Inspection of Documents
Another key feature of the MCA21 system is the online viewing of documents of RoC by
anyone desirous of inspecting these documents. In order to make this possible, nearly six
crore sheets of existing documents will be scanned into the system. The company‟s
permanent documents, most recent annual report and subsisting charge documents will be
scanned as digital documents, authenticated by a competent authority of MCA using a digital
signature and made available to the viewers. When the system goes live, the records of any
company can be viewed from anywhere through the Internet on payment of the necessary
RoC fees. However, it will be limited to only those documents that are currently in the
possession of the RoC files. But the repository will progressively build up with the new
electronic documents that will be filed by companies and within a few years the electronic
repository is expected to have rich contents. Citizens can also request certified copies online
as part of the proposed solution.
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29. LBSIM- 2013-2015
ENABLING FACTORS
Adaptation of MCA forms for electronic filing
The services of MCA are all form driven. The biggest challenge was to adapt the paper forms
in a manner that is amenable for electronic filing. This had to be done within the framework
of the Companies Act, 1956. The forms re-engineering exercise was carried out with the
participation of domain specialists so as to make these forms ready for electronic filing. Each
form was meticulously analyzed and redundancies eliminated. In some cases, where feasible,
the forms themselves were unified / eliminated so that the number of forms has come down
by about a third. These can be further fine-tuned with inputs from industry and professionals
once the e-filing starts.
Usability Issues
Form filling will be done using freely downloadable software and it can be done offline, i.e.,
one need not remain connected to the Internet while filling-in the form. Such an approach
ideally suits use of home and small office Internet connections. Form sizes have also been
kept in mind and the form sizes have been kept to reasonable limits that will not impinge on
response time, though in some very exceptional cases these are slightly high.
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30. LBSIM- 2013-2015
Back office
Lot of attention has been paid to the simplification of key back office operational steps as part
of the process re-engineering exercise that was carried out by a team of experts. The back
office will have a rich collection of data elements that will be retained in a Relational
Database Management System. This transfer of data from the e-forms to the relational
database management system is being done using technology components, obviating the need
for any manual data entry - consequently the purity of data is retained, as the data entered by
the applicant on the form gets transferred automatically into the system for further use.
Change Interventions
It is one thing to write a vision document; it is another to convey it in a multitude of ways, in
which the stakeholders can draw a personal meaning from them. It is all the more important
for the MCA employees, who are at the forefront of change. Accordingly, change
management interventions - that manage the perception from conceptualization to rollouthave been an integral part of the program from day one. The approach has been uniquely
designed to proactively manage this change, using a series of training programs and
workshops at various levels of the organization. To help employees adapt to the new work
culture, the offices are being modernized to be on par with the best in Indian corporate sector.
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31. LBSIM- 2013-2015
Challenges
While making a big leap into the digital era from a classic paper based system, it is only but
necessary to introduce a system so complex and such an exercise is not without its
challenges. There are certain issues that still need to be innovatively addressed - Stamp duty
is one such issue. The new amendments made in the Stamp Act are expected to help address
this with use of appropriate technology. Ministry is making efforts in seeking a resolution of
this aspect before MCA21 system operation with all concerned States and agencies.
The induction of a large number of Banks authorized to collect MCA payments and
acknowledge the same in a timely manner into the MCA21 system is another challenge. The
participating Banks will acknowledge MCA collections through electronic means within a
day and this would need adapting their core banking software applications to include the
acknowledgement facility. The standardization that needs to be achieved and the
conformance by these Banks is a non-trivial exercise.
Digital signatures are another new area that needs to be tackled. Though digital signatures
have been previously used for specific application such as Customs, this will be the first time
when digital signatures will be used on such a large scale - by directors of companies,
practicing professionals, representatives of financial institutions besides MCA employees
themselves. The process of issuance and renewal of digital signatures would have to be made
easier.
Beneficiaries
The focus of the MCA21 program is on bringing about a fine balance of the stakeholder
requirements - between facilitation and control - as a blend of well-defined goals and
performance metrics. Adopting International Best Practices, the goals have been set to bring
immense value to the stakeholders and have been succinctly articulated as under:
1. Business enabled to register a company and file statutory documents quickly
and easily.
2. Public to get easy access to relevant records and get their grievances redressed
effectively.
3. Professionals to be able to offer efficient services to their client companies.
4. Financial Institutions to find registration and verification of charges easy.
5. MCA to ensure proactive & effective compliance of relevant laws and
corporate governance.
6. Employees enabled to deliver best of breed services.
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32. LBSIM- 2013-2015
HELP BY GOVERNMENT IN E GOVERNANCE
A standing committee having apex level representation from the private and government
sector should be formed to oversee the performance of key e-Governance initiatives in the
country. It should be a national level body having eminent representatives from political
entities, bureaucracy, IT industry and academia.
This committee should be made the key authority involved in both planning and execution of
e-Governance initiatives in the country.
It should also be responsible for providing a nation-wide blueprint for e-Governance
initiatives. It would ensure that the central and state governments follow a holistic approach
towards achieving ICT-led transformation of the states and subsequently the country on the
whole. The committee would make certain that the various technological advancements are
planned by taking into account the need for interoperability of state governments and the
various ministries within a state government. It would also enable governments to implement
e-Governance programmes successfully by leveraging the PPP model. The committee would
also encourage and assist in replication of successful e-Governance projects across the
country.
Recommendations given in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-2012) for Improving the
Efficiency of e-Governance Initiatives:
Encourage the use of IP/products developed by Indian companies in e-governance
projects.
Encourage the central and state governments to procure e-governance services rather
than procuring hardware, software, services, and networks separately. This will bring
about a more outcome based procurement model as compared to the current outlay
oriented model.
Encourage reusability in e-governance projects at both the infrastructure and
application level.
Encourage banks and financial institutions to fund e-governance projects above a
certain size as a priority sector funding.
Faster replication of already successful e-governance programs.
Define interoperability standards/criteria and ensure that e-governance applications
adopt these standards irrespective of the vendor supplying the technology.
Incentivise citizens for using online services.
Prepare a detailed e-governance plan for each central ministry and state which details
a time-bound schedule for implementing e-governance. The budgetary support from
the central government for the e-governance initiatives can be linked to achievement
of specific milestones.
Ensure that e-Governance applications are IPv6 ready.
National programme on replication of already successful e-governance projects
having potential to enhance citizen services.
Bring private sector investments and expertise into the e-governance domain by
evolving sustainable PPP models.
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33. LBSIM- 2013-2015
GLOBAL SCENARIO OF E GOVERNANCE
For a country to be considered to be technologically advanced, e-Governance is a key
requirement and measurement. The World Economic Forum‟s league table measuring the
impact of technology on the development of nations, places Denmark at the top of the list for
technological advancement, with other Nordic countries Sweden, Finland and Norway
claiming second, fourth and 10th place respectively. E-Governance is not just about
improving delivery of services to citizens, businesses and government employees. It is also
about blending Information and Communications Technology (ICT) with administrative
reforms to make government more efficient, drive down costs and increase transparency in
how government departments work.
Electronic invoicing in Denmark saves an estimated 50 million Euros per year, and
administration, hence taxpayers – between 120 to 150 million Euros. If this example could be
replicated across the entire EU it could save 15 billion Euros per year.
In Japan, the e-Japan Strategy emphasizes the development of local e-governance schemes,
including self-evaluation of online government services, allowing citizens' feedback and
participation.
In Africa, many countries are developing National ICTs Strategies that, in some cases, are
already producing positive results and are leading (or can lead) to success. Some examples
are: Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia. Many
other countries are embarking on national ICTs strategies and programmes, often "mixed"
with administrative reforms, good governance strategies, or decentralisation programmes.
The project of "Application of Hand-held Computers in the Delivery of Health Services in
Uganda", managed by the Uganda Health Information Network, aims at determining costeffective ways of enhancing access, sharing and communication of critical health and medical
information in a timely and efficient manner for the benefit of health care providers,
managers and planners, in the Ugandan technological and institutional context.
UK is using e-government services to deliver local democracy and reaching out to the next
generation of voters with councillor blogs, democracy themed games and national school
level debates and voting programmes.
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34. LBSIM- 2013-2015
E-Government Trends
Developed Nations
Portals – Increasing use of e-com and e-biz
Consolidation of Websites
One-Stop Government
Unique Citizen ID
Life Cycle Management
Asset Consolidation
Employee Consolidation
Radical Organizational Restructuring (Beyond
BPR and Change Management)
Developing Nations
Portals – Increasing
Proliferation of Websites
First time Creation of huge Government
database
PPP model of Financing e-Government
Mobile Governance (M-Gov), Mobile
Commerce (m-commerce)
Capacity Building (CB) and Content
Management (CM)
Policies, Laws Rules and Standards
Increase in Citizen Service Centres (CSC) and
Kiosks
POTENTIAL FAILURES OF E GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE
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RECOMMENDATION
There is a clear need to take some serious measures to improve the e-Governance scenario in
India. Based on global experiences, this project recommends the implementation following
plans by the Government of India for effective e-Governance:
A nationwide mandate to allocate a fixed percentage of annual budgets to eGovernance.
Encourage the central and state governments to procure e-governance services rather
than procuringhardware, software, services, and networks separately.
The need to adopt mature, integrated and holistic solution/services based approach.
National level governance of the e-Governance programme.
Key personnel appointed for the entire term of an e-Governance initiative.
Bring private sector investments and expertise into the e-governance domain by
evolving sustainable PPPmodels.
Prepare a detailed e-governance plan for each central ministry and state which details
a time-bound schedule for implementing e-governance.
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CONCLUSION
The MCA21 initiative is part of the “Mission Mode” projects of the Government of India.
Such mission mode projects have been positioned to be major change agents in the eGovernance space in India. Government agencies and departments and even private entities,
which want to play a role in e-Governance transformations, will all be catalyzed to think
along the roadmap and imbibe the learning‟s from the mission mode projects. The MCA21
program may be looked at as one of the early e-Governance building blocks capable of
providing sustainable ethos to the several modernizing initiatives that will be carried out by
the Government of India.
There are two distinct areas where knowledge and learning‟s can be taken from the MCA21
project - (a) a model for secure electronic filing and (b) a concept for improving Government
Back office efficiency. It is needless to say that these two are critical ingredients that can be
used in a plethora of situations involving delivery of citizen services by the Government. The
experience gained from MCA21 can serve as a solid foundation not just for improving
service delivery but help the Government think „out-of-the-box‟ for innovating and defining
new services. In addition to this the following things also we concluded:
Information and communication technologies have a valuable potential to help Indian
central and state governments deliver good governance to their constituents.
The potential remains largely untapped to date and there are various gaps hindering
effective implementation of e-Governance in India.
The e-governance projects like the one implemented by Passport Department with the
help of software giant TCS proves the enhancement of efficiency by e-governance.
The recommendations made, if implemented, can help India become a leader in the eGovernance space.
Globally India has been known to be a leader in the IT arena but the government itself
has had a very fragmented approach where every department did its projects
separately.
This approach has not allowed government; employees, citizens and businesses reap
optimum benefits from a majority of e-Governance initiatives taken so far.
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